Flow circuit for carbonated beverage machine

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and cartridges for carbonating or otherwise dissolving gas in a precursor liquid, such as water, to form a beverage. Carbonating gas can be provided to a tank via the tank outlet, thereby purging at least a portion of a dispense line leading from the tank to a dispensing station. A single pump may be used to deliver liquid to the tank, e.g., for carbonation, and to pump pressurized air to dispense liquid from the tank. A water trap may help remove moisture from carbonating gas.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/065966, filed Oct. 20, 2014, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The inventions described herein relate to dissolving gas in liquids,e.g., carbonation, for use in preparing a beverage. Systems forcarbonating liquids and/or mixing liquids with a beverage medium to forma beverage are described in a wide variety of publications, includingU.S. Pat. Nos. 4,025,655, 4,040,342; 4,636,337; 6,712,342 and 5,182,084;and PCT Publication WO 2008/124851.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Aspects of the invention relate to carbonating or otherwise dissolving agas in a precursor liquid, such as water, to form a beverage. In someembodiments, a carbon dioxide or other gas source can be provided in acartridge which is used to generate carbon dioxide or other gas that isdissolved into the precursor liquid. A beverage medium, such as apowdered drink mix or liquid syrup, may be provided in the same, or aseparate cartridge as the gas source and mixed with the precursor liquid(either before or after carbonation) to form a beverage. The use of oneor more cartridges for the gas source and/or beverage medium may makefor an easy to use and mess-free system for making carbonated or othersparkling beverages, e.g., in the consumer's home. A beverage mediumincluded in a cartridge may include any suitable beverage makingmaterials (beverage medium), such as concentrated syrups, ground coffeeor liquid coffee extract, tea leaves, dry herbal tea, powdered beverageconcentrate, dried fruit extract or powder, natural and/or artificialflavors or colors, acids, aromas, viscosity modifiers, clouding agents,antioxidants, powdered or liquid concentrated bouillon or other soup,powdered or liquid medicinal materials (such as powdered vitamins,minerals, bioactive ingredients, drugs or other pharmaceuticals,nutriceuticals, etc.), powdered or liquid milk or other creamers,sweeteners, thickeners, and so on. (As used herein, “mixing” of a liquidwith a beverage medium includes a variety of mechanisms, such as thedissolving of substances in the beverage medium in the liquid, theextraction of substances from the beverage medium, and/or the liquidotherwise receiving some material from the beverage medium or otherwisecombining with the beverage medium.) (The term “carbonation” or“carbonated” is used herein to generically refer to beverages that havea dissolved gas, and thus refers to a sparkling beverage whether thedissolved gas is carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, air or other gas.Thus, aspects of the invention are not limited to forming beverages thathave a dissolved carbon dioxide content, but rather may include anydissolved gas.)

In one aspect, a beverage making machine includes a precursor liquidsupply to provide precursor liquid used to form a beverage, and acarbonation tank having an inlet coupled to receive precursor liquiddelivered by the precursor liquid supply and an outlet at a bottom ofthe carbonation tank to deliver precursor liquid from the tank to adispense line that leads to a dispensing station. A carbonating gassupply line may be fluidly coupled to the dispense line of thecarbonation tank to deliver carbon dioxide gas to the outlet of thecarbonation tank to carbonate the precursor liquid. In some cases, thegas supply line may include a gas delivery valve between a source ofpressurized gas and the dispense line that is controllable to open andclose the gas supply line, and the dispense line may include a dispensevalve that is controllable to open and close the dispense line.

Certain advantages may be provided by delivering carbonating gas to thetank via the dispense line. For example, delivering carbonating gas at arelatively low point in the tank may help increase contact of the gaswith the precursor liquid, thereby enhancing dissolution of the gas. Inaddition, or alternately, the flow of carbonating gas through at least aportion of the dispense line may help purge the dispense line of liquid(e.g., remaining from a prior dispensed beverage). Purging the dispenseline back into the tank may help ensure that any purged liquid in thedispense line is suitably chilled and/or carbonated. That is, if chilledand carbonated liquid from a prior beverage sits in the dispense linefor an extended period, the liquid may release the carbonating gasand/or warm to a temperature above that desired. The carbonating gas maydrive the liquid in the dispense line back into the tank to be chilledand/or carbonated.

In one embodiment, the precursor liquid supply includes a pump arrangedto deliver precursor liquid to the carbonation tank, and in some casesthe same pump may be arranged to pump gas (such as air) to the tank toforce precursor liquid from the carbonation tank and into the dispenseline. Thus, a single pump can be used to deliver liquid to thecarbonating tank, and cause liquid in the tank to be dispensed byforcing gas into the tank. Prior to dispensing a carbonated liquid, thetank may be coupled to a vent to release pressure in the tank, and thenthe vent may be closed and gas pumped into the tank to force carbonatedprecursor liquid from the carbonation tank and into the dispense line.

The carbonating gas supply line may be coupled to a source ofpressurized carbon dioxide used to carbonate precursor liquid in thetank, e.g., the source of pressurized carbon dioxide may be a gas sourcein a cartridge that is activated to release carbon dioxide in thepresence of a fluid. In some embodiments, the precursor liquid supplymay be arranged to deliver precursor liquid to the gas source in thecartridge to cause the gas source to release carbon dioxide.

In some embodiments, a mixing chamber may be coupled to the dispenseline to mix the carbonated precursor liquid with a beverage medium thatmay be provided from a cartridge. For example, a cartridge holder may bearranged to hold a cartridge having a container defining a sealedinternal space with a first chamber and a second chamber that areisolated from each other. The first chamber may contain a carbon dioxidesource in solid form, having adsorbed carbon dioxide, and arranged toemit the carbon dioxide gas for use in carbonating the precursor liquidto form a beverage. The second chamber may contain a beverage medium foruse in mixing with the precursor liquid to form a beverage. Thecartridge holder may be arranged to introduce pressurized gas into thesecond chamber to cause the beverage medium to exit the second chamber,e.g., to flow to the mixing chamber.

In some embodiments, the cartridge holder may be arranged to pierce thefirst chamber to form an opening through which an activating fluid isintroduced into the first chamber to cause the carbon dioxide source toemit the carbon dioxide. A carbon dioxide activating fluid supply may bearranged to provide a fluid to the cartridge chamber for contact withthe carbon dioxide source to cause the carbon dioxide source to emitcarbon dioxide gas, e.g., water may be provided to activate the gassource. In some embodiments, the cartridge may include a lid at a top ofthe container, and the cartridge holder may be arranged to pierce thelid to form openings through which the activating fluid enters the firstchamber and carbon dioxide exits the first chamber. The cartridge holdermay also be arranged to pierce the second chamber to form an openingthrough which pressurized gas is introduced to force the beverage mediumto exit the second chamber.

The carbonation tank may be arranged in different ways, and in oneembodiment includes a cooling container tank around at least a portionof the carbonation tank arranged to hold ice to cool precursor liquid inthe carbonation tank. An agitator may be arranged to move precursorliquid in the carbonation tank to aid in carbonation of the precursorliquid.

In another aspect, a method of making a beverage includes deliveringprecursor liquid to a carbonation tank having an outlet at a bottom ofthe carbonation tank coupled to a dispense line, and delivering carbondioxide gas under pressure to the carbonation tank via the outlet. Asnoted above, delivering carbonating gas to a tank via a dispense linemay aid in carbonation and/or purge at least a portion of the dispenseline. Precursor liquid in the carbonation tank may be carbonated withthe carbon dioxide gas, and the carbonated precursor liquid deliveredfrom the carbonation tank to the dispense line via the outlet.

In another aspect, a beverage making machine includes a precursor liquidsupply includes a pump arranged to deliver precursor liquid, and a tankhaving an inlet coupled to an outlet side of the pump to receiveprecursor liquid delivered by the pump. An outlet of the tank isarranged to deliver precursor liquid from the tank to a dispensingstation, and a gas supply line may be fluidly coupled to an inlet sideof the pump. The pump may be arranged to pump gas from the gas supplyline to the tank to cause precursor liquid in the tank to be deliveredto the dispensing station. That is, a single pump may be employed todeliver liquid to the tank as well as deliver gas to the tank to causeliquid in the tank to be dispensed. Such an arrangement may eliminatemultiple components, including separate pumps for liquid and gasdelivery.

In one embodiment, the gas supply line may be fluidly coupled to a vent,and the pump may be arranged to pump gas from the vent to the tank tosubstantially empty the tank of precursor liquid. For example, liquid inthe tank may be driven to flow from the tank and into a dispense line.In another arrangement, the gas supply line may be fluidly coupled to asource of pressurized gas, such as a carbonating gas supply thatprovides pressurized carbon dioxide used to carbonate precursor liquidin the tank. In one embodiment, the source of pressurized carbon dioxideincludes a cartridge containing a gas source that is activated torelease carbon dioxide in the presence of liquid. In another embodiment,the gas supply line may be arranged to vent the tank to ambientpressure, and to provide gas to the inlet side of the pump for deliveryto the tank to cause the precursor liquid to be moved to the dispensingstation.

In another aspect, a method of making a beverage includes deliveringprecursor liquid to a tank to form a beverage by pumping the precursorliquid via a pump, conditioning the liquid in the tank, e.g., by coolingand/or carbonating, and pumping a gas into the tank via the pump tocause the precursor liquid to be moved from the tank to a dispensingstation. In some embodiments, air at ambient pressure from a vent may bepumped to the tank using the pump, and may cause the tank tosubstantially empty of precursor liquid. In other embodiments, gas froma source of pressurized gas may be pumped into the tank.

In another aspect, a beverage making machine includes a precursor liquidsupply with a pump arranged to deliver precursor liquid to form abeverage, and a tank having an inlet coupled to an outlet side of thepump to receive precursor liquid delivered by the pump. An outlet of thetank may be arranged to deliver precursor liquid from the tank to adispensing station, and a source of pressurized gas may be fluidlycouplable to an inlet side of the pump and to the tank. The pressurizedgas from the source of pressurized gas may be used for dissolution inthe precursor liquid in the tank, e.g., to carbonate the liquid. In oneembodiment, a vent may be fluidly coupled to the inlet side of the pump,and the pump may be arranged to pump air from the vent into the tank tomove precursor liquid from the tank to the dispensing station. One ormore valves may be arranged to selectively couple the vent or the sourceof pressurized gas to the inlet side of the pump so the pump may delivereither to the tank. The source of pressurized gas may include a sourceof pressurized carbon dioxide used to carbonate precursor liquid in thetank, e.g., may include a cartridge containing a gas source that isactivated to release carbon dioxide in the presence of a liquid. In someembodiments, a water trap may be connected between the source ofpressurized gas and the inlet side of the pump, e.g., so the water trapcan trap water droplets included with the gas such that the waterdroplets are not delivered to the inlet side of the pump. A drain valvemay be positioned between the water trap and the vent, e.g., so liquidin the trap can be drained.

In another aspect, a method of making a beverage includes deliveringprecursor liquid to a tank to form a beverage by pumping the precursorliquid via a pump, delivering a fluid via operation of the pump to a gassource to cause the gas source to emit a pressurized gas to be dissolvedin the precursor liquid in the tank, and fluidly coupling thepressurized gas from the gas source to an inlet side of the pump whilethe pump is operated to deliver the fluid to the gas source. By couplingthe pressurized gas from the gas source to the inlet side of the pump, apressure drop across the pump may be reduced, allowing the pump tooperate with lower power requirements. In some embodiments, a gas mayalso be pumped into the tank by the pump to cause the precursor liquidto be moved from the tank to a dispensing station. For example, air atambient pressure from a vent may be pumped to the tank using the pump.

In another aspect, a beverage making machine includes a precursor liquidsupply to provide precursor liquid used to form a beverage, and a tankhaving an inlet coupled to the precursor liquid and an outlet to deliverprecursor liquid from the tank to a dispensing station. A source ofpressurized gas may be fluidly couplable to the tank to providepressurized gas for dissolution in the precursor liquid in the tank, anda water trap may be fluidly coupled between the source of pressurizedgas and the tank to trap liquid droplets in fluid flow from the sourceof pressurized gas to the tank. The water trap may be effective whenmoisture is included with gas provided from a gas source, such as whenthe gas source is activated by a liquid. As noted above, a cartridge mayinclude a zeolite or other molecular sieve gas source that releasesadsorbed gas in the presence of water. If liquid water is included inproduced gas, the water trap may help remove some moisture from the gas.

In some embodiments, a vent may be fluidly coupled to an inlet side ofthe water trap, e.g., to allow liquid in the trap to drain to a drainline or to allow the pump to intake air that is pumped to the tank. Inone embodiment, one or more valves may selectively couple the vent orthe source of pressurized gas to the tank. In one embodiment, theprecursor liquid supply may include a pump with an inlet side, and thewater trap may be connected to the inlet side of the pump.

In another aspect, a method of making a beverage includes deliveringprecursor liquid to a tank, delivering a pressurized gas to a water trapto remove any water droplets in the pressurized gas, and delivering thepressurized gas from the water trap to the tank to dissolve thepressurized gas in the precursor liquid. In one embodiment, thepressurized gas is carbon dioxide, and a cartridge is provided with agas source arranged to release carbon dioxide in the presence of aliquid. For example, precursor liquid may be delivered to the gas sourceto cause the gas source to release the carbon dioxide.

In one aspect, a beverage making system includes a beverage precursorliquid supply arranged to provide a precursor liquid. The precursorliquid supply may include a reservoir, a pump, one or more conduits, oneor more valves, one or more sensors (e.g., to detect a water level inthe reservoir), and/or any other suitable components to provide water orother precursor liquid in a way suitable to form a beverage. The systemmay also include a single cartridge having first and/or secondcompartments or chambers. The first cartridge chamber may contain a gassource arranged to emit gas for use in dissolving into the precursorliquid, e.g., for carbonating the precursor liquid, and the secondcartridge chamber may contain a beverage medium arranged to be mixedwith a liquid precursor to form a beverage. The system may include acartridge interface, such as a chamber that receives and at leastpartially encloses the cartridge, a connection port arranged to fluidlycouple with the cartridge, or other arrangement. A gas dissolutiondevice may be arranged to dissolve gas that is emitted from the firstcartridge chamber into the precursor liquid, and may include, forexample, a membrane contactor, a tank suitable to hold a liquid underpressure to help dissolve gas in the liquid, a sparger, a sprinklerarranged to introduce water to a pressurized gas environment, or otherarrangement. The system may be arranged to mix precursor liquid with thebeverage medium, whether before or after gas is dissolved in the liquid,to form a beverage. The beverage medium may be mixed with the liquid inthe cartridge, in another portion of the system such as a mixing chamberinto which beverage medium from the cartridge is introduced along withprecursor liquid, in a user's cup, or elsewhere.

In some embodiments, the first and second cartridge chambers may eachhave a volume that is less than a volume of carbonated beverage to beformed using the cartridge portions. This can provide a significantadvantage by allowing a user to form a relatively large volume beverageusing a relative small volume cartridge or cartridges. For example, thesystem may be arranged to use the first and second cartridge portionsover a period of time less than about 120 seconds to form a carbonatedliquid having a volume of between 100-1000 ml and a carbonation level ofabout 1 to 5 volumes. Carbonation may occur at pressures between 20-80psi, or more. The cartridge portions in this embodiment may have avolume of about 40-80 ml or less, reducing an amount of waste and/oradding to convenience of the system.

In one embodiment, a carbonated and flavored beverage may be made over aperiod of time less than about 120 seconds (e.g., about 60 seconds) andusing a gas pressure of 20-80 psi (e.g., above ambient) to form acarbonated liquid having a volume of between 100-1000 ml (e.g., about500 ml) and a carbonation level of about 2 to 4 volumes (or less ormore, such as 1 to 5 volumes). Thus, systems and methods according tothis aspect may produce a relatively highly carbonated beverage in arelatively short period of time, and without requiring high pressures.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the invention are described with reference to the followingdrawings in which like numerals reference like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of abeverage making system having a removable reservoir;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the beverage making system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a left side view of the beverage making system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a left side view of the beverage making system of FIG. 1and a cartridge is located in a cartridge holder;

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the beverage making system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an illustrative flow circuit in abeverage making system;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of another illustrative flow circuit ina beverage making system;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of yet another illustrative flowcircuit in a beverage making system;

FIG. 9 shows a cross sectional view of a carbonation tank and coolingcontainer in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 10 shows an exploded view of a carbonation tank and cooling systemin an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 11 shows a top view of an assembled carbonation tank and coolingcontainer in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of the carbonation tank of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 shows a schematic view of a cooling system in an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 14 shows a schematic view of another cooling system in anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 15 shows a schematic view of yet another cooling system in anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 16 shows a perspective view of a cartridge which can be used withthe FIGS. 1-4 embodiment;

FIG. 17 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 16 cartridge;

FIG. 18 shows a perspective view of another illustrative cartridge;

FIG. 19 shows a cross sectional view of a cartridge holder useable withthe FIGS. 1-4 embodiment with a cartridge receiver in an open position;

FIG. 20 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 19 cartridge holderwith the cartridge receiver in a closed position;

FIG. 21 shows a top view of the FIG. 19 cartridge holder;

FIG. 22 shows a cross sectional view of an alternative cartridge holderincluding a mixing chamber;

FIG. 23 perspective view of the mixing chamber of FIG. 22; and

FIG. 24 shows a cross sectional view of the FIG. 22 mixing chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that aspects of the invention are describedherein with reference to the figures, which show illustrativeembodiments. The illustrative embodiments described herein are notnecessarily intended to show all embodiments in accordance with theinvention, but rather are used to describe a few illustrativeembodiments. Thus, aspects of the invention are not intended to beconstrued narrowly in view of the illustrative embodiments. In addition,it should be understood that aspects of the invention may be used aloneor in any suitable combination with other aspects of the invention.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a fluid (such as water,water vapor, or other) may be provided to a carbon dioxide or other gassource in a cartridge so as to cause the gas source to emit gas that isused to carbonate or otherwise for dissolution in a liquid. In oneembodiment, a beverage making machine may include a gas activating fluidsupply arranged to provide fluid to a cartridge chamber for contact withthe gas source so as to cause the gas source to emit gas. In otherarrangements, the gas source may be caused to release gas in other ways,such as by heating, exposing the source to microwaves or otherelectromagnetic radiation, etc. A gas supply of the machine may bearranged to conduct gas emitted by the gas source, under pressuregreater than the ambient pressure, to a precursor liquid to carbonatethe precursor liquid. In some embodiments, the gas source may be insolid form, such as a zeolite, activated carbon or other molecular sievethat is charged with carbon dioxide or other gas, and the use of acartridge may not only isolate the gas source from activating agents(such as water vapor in the case of a charged zeolite), but alsopotentially eliminate the need for a user to touch or otherwise directlyhandle the carbon dioxide source.

Having a gas activating fluid supply may enable the use of anotheraspect of the invention, i.e., a volume or other measure of the fluidprovided to the cartridge may be controlled to control the rate oramount of gas that produced by the gas source. This feature can make theuse of some gas sources, such as a charged zeolite material, possiblewithout requiring gas storage or high pressure components, although highpressure gas cylinders can be used as a gas source with someembodiments. For example, zeolites charged with carbon dioxide tend torelease carbon dioxide very rapidly and in relatively large quantities(e.g., a 30 gram mass of charged zeolite can easily produce 1-2 litersof carbon dioxide gas at atmospheric pressure in a few seconds in thepresence of less than 30-50m1 of water). This rapid release can in somecircumstances make the use of zeolites impractical for producingrelatively highly carbonated liquids, such as a carbonated water that iscarbonated to a level of 2 volumes or more. (A carbonation “volume”refers to the number of volume measures of carbon dioxide gas that isdissolved in a given volume measure of liquid. For example, a 1 literamount of “2 volume” carbonated water includes a 1 liter volume of waterthat has 2 liters of carbon dioxide gas dissolved in it. Similarly, a 1liter amount of “4 volume” carbonated water includes a 1 liter volume ofwater that has 4 liters of carbon dioxide dissolved in it. The gasvolume measure is the gas volume that could be released from thecarbonated liquid at atmospheric or ambient pressure and roomtemperature.) That is, dissolution of carbon dioxide or other gases inliquids typically takes a certain amount of time, and the rate ofdissolution can only be increased a limited amount under less thanextreme conditions, such as pressures within about 150 psi of ambientand temperatures within about +/−40 to 50 degrees C. of roomtemperature. By controlling the rate of carbon dioxide (or other gas)production for a carbon dioxide (or other gas) source, the total timeover which the carbon dioxide (or other gas) source emits carbon dioxide(or other gas) can be extended, allowing time for the carbon dioxide(gas) to be dissolved without requiring relatively high pressures. Forexample, when employing one illustrative embodiment incorporating one ormore aspects of the invention, the inventors have produced liquidshaving at least up to about 3.5 volume carbonation levels in less than60 seconds, at pressures under about 80 psi, and at temperatures around0 degrees Celsius. Of course, as discussed above and elsewhere herein,aspects of the invention are not limited to use with carbon dioxide, andinstead any suitable gas may be dissolved in a liquid in accordance withall aspects of this disclosure.

In another aspect of the invention, a portion of a precursor liquid thatis used to form a beverage may be used to activate the gas source. Thisfeature may help simplify operation of a beverage making machine, e.g.,by eliminating the need for special activation substances. As a result,a beverage making machine, or a method of forming a sparkling beverage,may be made less expensively and/or without special purpose ingredients.For example, in the case of a machine making carbonated water, all thatis needed to activate the carbon dioxide source may be a portion of thewater used to form the beverage. It should be understood, however, thatother aspects of the invention need not require the use of a portion ofprecursor liquid to activate a carbon dioxide source, and instead mayuse any suitable activating agent, such as a citric acid in aqueous formthat is added to a bicarbonate material, heat, microwave or otherelectromagnetic radiation used to activate a zeolite source, and others.For example, the cartridge that includes the carbon dioxide source mayinclude (as part of the source), an activating agent whose addition toanother component of the carbon dioxide source is controlled to controlcarbon dioxide production.

FIGS. 1-4 show an illustrative embodiment of a beverage making system 1that incorporates one or more aspects of the invention. In thisembodiment, components of the beverage making system 1 are located in oron a housing 21 which includes a drip tray 23 to support a user's cup orother container 8 and a reservoir 11. In this case, the reservoir 11 isoptionally removable from the housing 21 and contains beverage precursorliquid, such as water, that is used to form a beverage dispensed at adispensing station 29 into the user's container 8. The reservoir 11includes a removable lid l la that can be removed to provide precursorliquid 2 into the reservoir 11, but such a lid 11 a is not required.Moreover, the reservoir 11 need not be removable and/or may be replacedby a plumbed connection to a mains water source. The beverage precursorliquid 2 can be any suitable liquid, including water (e.g., flavored orotherwise treated water, such as sweetened, filtered, deionized,softened, carbonated, etc.), or any other suitable liquid used to form abeverage, such as milk, juice, coffee, tea, etc. (whether heated orcooled relative to room temperature or not). The reservoir 11 is part ofa beverage precursor supply which provides the precursor liquid 2 forconditioning of some kind, e.g., carbonation, filtering, chilling,mixing with a beverage medium, etc., and subsequent dispensing as abeverage.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, a cartridge 4 containing a gas source and/or abeverage medium may be associated with a cartridge holder 3 of thesystem 1. The gas source may emit carbon dioxide or other gas which isused by the system 1 to carbonate the precursor liquid, and a beveragemedium, such as a flavoring agent, may be mixed with precursor liquid.In this embodiment, the cartridge 4 may be associated with the cartridgeholder 3 by pulling a sliding drawer 31 forwardly to expose a cartridgereceiver or receiving area of the drawer 31. The cartridge 4, which inthis case includes an upper compartment or chamber 41 containing a gassource and a lower compartment or chamber 42 containing a beveragemedium, may be placed in the cartridge receiving area of the drawer 31and the drawer 31 closed by sliding to the left in FIG. 4. Thereafter, auser may interact with an interface 52, such as a touch screen, buttonor other device by which the user can cause the system 1 to make abeverage. In response, the cartridge 4 may be clamped at a rim or band44 located between the upper and lower compartments 41, 42 by thecartridge holder 3 and the compartments 41, 42 accessed to form thebeverage. As is discussed in more detail below, aspects of the inventionrelate to a cartridge holder's ability to hold the upper and lowercompartments 41, 42 of the cartridge 4 in spaces having differentpressures (e.g., the upper compartment 41 may be held in a more highlypressurized space to receive carbonating gas than the lower compartment42) and/or the holder's ability to pierce an inlet of the lowercompartment 42 at an underside of the rim or band 44 to access thebeverage medium (e.g., by injecting pressurized air or other gas intothe lower compartment 42, thereby forcing the beverage medium to exitthe cartridge and be dispensed at the dispense station 29). Since thecartridge 4 may be replaceable, a user may exchange the cartridge 4 tomake different beverages, such as carbonated water only, a carbonatedand flavored beverage, a still and flavored beverage, etc.

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the FIG. 1 embodiment includingcomponents that are located in the housing 21. In this embodiment, thehousing 21 includes a front panel 21 a, a back panel 21 b and a base 21c that cooperate to house and/or support components of the system.Precursor liquid in the removable reservoir 11 is moved by a pump 13 viaone or more control valves 51 to a carbonation tank 6 (supported on asupport 61 over the pump 13) where the precursor liquid 2 is chilled bya cooling system 7 and carbonated. Thereafter, the precursor liquid ismoved from the tank 6 to the dispense station 29 where the carbonatedliquid may be mixed with a beverage medium in a cartridge 4 anddispensed. As mentioned above, beverage medium in the cartridge may bemoved out of the cartridge by introducing pressurized gas into thecartridge 4, e.g., by an air pump 43 pumping air into the cartridge 4and forcing the beverage medium to exit via an outlet of the cartridge.Control of the system may be performed by control circuitry 5, which mayinclude a programmed general purpose computer and/or other dataprocessing device along with suitable software or other operatinginstructions, one or more memories (including non-transient storagemedia that may store software and/or other operating instructions), apower supply 53 for the control circuitry 5 and/or other systemcomponents, temperature and liquid level sensors, pressure sensors, RFIDinterrogation devices or other machine readable indicia readers (such asthose used to read and recognize alphanumeric text, barcodes, securityinks, etc.), input/output interfaces (e.g., such as the user interface52 to display information to a user and/or receive input from a user),communication buses or other links, a display, switches, relays, triacs,motors, mechanical linkages and/or actuators, or other componentsnecessary to perform desired input/output or other functions.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the cooling system 7 usedto chill precursor liquid in the carbonation tank 6 may include one ormore thermoelectric devices 75 thermally coupled to the carbonation tank6, one or more heat pipes 76 having an evaporator section coupled to thethermoelectric devices 75, and one or more heat sinks 77 thermallycoupled to the condenser section of the heat pipes 76. A cooling airflow may be moved through a duct 79 and across the heat sinks by a fan(not shown), another air mover, and/or in other ways, such as byconvection. The use of a thermoelectric device/heat pipe/heat sinkarrangement is not required for all embodiments, however, and otherembodiments may include a conventional refrigeration system or othercooling system (such as that found in refrigerators, air conditioningunits, or other devices used to remove heat from a material) to cool theliquid in the carbonation tank 6 or elsewhere in the system. In somearrangements, cooling the precursor liquid before entering or while inthe carbonation tank 6 may help the carbonation process, e.g., becausecooler liquids tend to dissolve carbon dioxide or other gas more rapidlyand/or are capable of dissolving larger amounts of gas. However,carbonated liquid could be chilled after flowing from the carbonationtank, e.g., using a flow through device.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, an outlet of the duct forthe cooling system may be positioned adjacent an inlet opening forproviding precursor liquid to the system. In some embodiments, the ductmay be arranged such that any precursor liquid that is unintentionallyprovided into the duct outlet may be routed by the duct and/or portionsof the housing to a bottom of the housing, e.g., exiting via holes at abottom of the housing. This may help prevent damage to electricalcomponents because such components may be located outside of the ductand/or otherwise protected from contact with the precursor liquid in theduct. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 2, a duct outlet 79 a may bepositioned at a top of the housing 21 adjacent the reservoir lid 11 a,which can be removed to expose an inlet opening 11 b through which watermay be provided into the reservoir 11. In the process of pouring waterinto the reservoir 11, it may be possible to spill some water into theduct outlet 79 a. However, in this embodiment, any liquid spilled intothe duct outlet 79 a may be routed by the duct 79 and/or portions of thehousing 21 to a bottom of the housing 21, e.g., to the base 21 c. Insome cases, the liquid may flow into the drip tray 23 and/or may exitfrom the base 21 c through holes in the base 21 c. The duct 79, whichmay extend from the outlet 79 a to an inlet (not shown) near a bottom ofthe housing 21, may be isolated from all or most of any electricalcomponents of the system 1 such that liquid entering the outlet 79 a mayflow downwardly to the bottom of the housing 21 without contact withelectrical components. In this sense, the duct 79 may be isolated fromelectrical components of the system 1 such that liquid in the duct 79does not contact the electrical components. This arrangement may helpprevent damage to the system 1 if liquid accidentally enters the ductoutlet 79 a.

A beverage making system 1 may employ different liquid and gas flow patharrangements in accordance with aspects of the invention. FIG. 6 showsone such arrangement in an illustrative embodiment. In this embodiment,precursor liquid 2 provided by a precursor liquid supply 10 originatesin the reservoir 11, which may be removable from the system 1, e.g., toallow for easier filling, or may be fixed in place. Although in thisembodiment a user initially provides the beverage precursor liquid 2 inthe reservoir 11, the precursor supply 10 may include other componentsto provide liquid 2 to the reservoir 11, such as a plumbed water line,controllable valve, and liquid level sensor to automatically fill thereservoir 11 to a desired level, a second water reservoir or other tankthat is fluidly connected to the reservoir 11, and other arrangements.Liquid 2 is delivered by a pump 13 to the carbonation tank 6 via athree-way valve 51 c. In this instance, the pump 13 is a solenoid pump,but other pump types are possible. The carbonation tank 6 may besuitably filled with liquid 2 using any suitable control method, such asby sensing a level in the tank 6 using a conductive probe, pressuresensor, optical sensor or other sensor. A tank vent valve 51 b may beopened during filling to allow the pressure in the tank 6 to vent, ormay remain closed during filling, e.g., to allow a pressure build up inthe tank 6. Though not shown in FIG. 6, the control circuit 5 maycontrol operation of the valves 51, e.g., the valves 51 may includeelectromechanical or other actuators, as well as include sensors todetect various characteristics, such as temperature in the tank 6,pressure in the tank 6, a flow rate of gas or liquid in any of thesystem flow lines, etc.

To form a beverage, a user may associate a cartridge 4 with the system1, e.g., by loading the cartridge 4 into a cartridge holder 3 in a waylike that discussed with respect to FIG. 4. Of course, a cartridge maybe associated with the system 1 in other ways, such as by screwing aportion of the cartridge into engagement with the system 1, etc. Withthe cartridge 4 associated with the system 1, the control circuit 5 maythen activate the system 1 to deliver liquid to the cartridge 4, e.g.,to cause carbon dioxide to be generated. (Though this embodiment uses acartridge with a gas source activated by a fluid, other arrangements arepossible, including the use of a pressurized gas cylinder as a gassource.) The control circuit 5 may start operation of the system 1 in anautomated way, e.g., based on detecting the presence of a cartridge 4 inthe holder 3, detecting liquid 2 in the carbonation tank 6 and closureof the holder 3, and/or other characteristics of the system 1.Alternately, the control circuit 5 may start system operation inresponse to a user pressing a start button or otherwise providing input(e.g., by voice activation) to start beverage preparation.

To initiate carbonation, the vent valve 51 b may be closed and thethree-way valve 51 c controlled to allow the pump 13 to pump liquid intothe upper compartment 41 of a cartridge 4 that contains a gas source.That is, the system 1 may include a carbon dioxide activating fluidsupply 20 that provides a fluid to a cartridge 4 so as to activate acarbon dioxide source in the upper compartment 41 to release carbondioxide gas. In this embodiment, the carbon dioxide source includes acharged adsorbent or molecular sieve, e.g., a zeolite material that hasadsorbed some amount of carbon dioxide gas that is released in thepresence of water, whether in vapor or liquid form. Of course, othercarbon dioxide source materials may be used, such as charcoal or othermolecular sieve materials, carbon nanotubes, metal organic frameworks,covalent organic frameworks, porous polymers, or source materials thatgenerate carbon dioxide by chemical means, such as sodium bicarbonateand citric acid (with the addition of water if the bicarbonate and acidare initially in dry form), or others. In addition, aspects of theinvention are not necessarily limited to use with carbon dioxide gas,but may be used with any suitable gas, such as nitrogen, which isdissolved in some beers or other beverages, oxygen, air, and others.Thus, reference to “carbonation”, “carbon dioxide source” “carbondioxide activating fluid supply”, etc., should not be interpreted aslimiting aspects of the invention and/or any embodiments to use withcarbon dioxide only. Instead, aspects of the invention may be used withany suitable gas.

In one embodiment, the charged adsorbent is a zeolite such as analcime,chabazite, clinoptilolite, heulandite, natrolite, phillipsite, orstilbite. The zeolite may be naturally occurring or synthetic, and maybe capable of holding up to about 18% carbon dioxide by weight or more.The zeolite material may be arranged in any suitable form, such as asolid block (e.g., in disc form), particles of spherical, cubic,irregular or other suitable shape, and others. An arrangement thatallows the zeolite to flow or be flowable, e.g., spherical particles,may be useful for packaging the zeolite in individual cartridges. Suchan arrangement may allow the zeolite to flow from a hopper into acartridge container, for example, simplifying the manufacturing process.The surface area of the zeolite particles may also be arranged to helpcontrol the rate at which the zeolite releases carbon dioxide gas, sincehigher surface area measures typically increase the gas production rate.Generally, zeolite materials will release adsorbed carbon dioxide in thepresence of water in liquid or vapor form, allowing the zeolite to beactivated to release carbon dioxide gas by the addition of liquid waterto the zeolite.

The carbon dioxide activating fluid supply 20 in this embodimentincludes a conduit that is fluidly coupled to the pump 13 and the valve51 c that can be controlled to open/close or otherwise control the flowof precursor liquid 2 into the cartridge 4. That is, and in accordancewith an aspect of the invention, a single pump may be arranged to bothdeliver precursor liquid to the carbonation tank and deliver activatingfluid to a gas source. Other arrangements or additions are possible forthe carbon dioxide activating fluid supply 20, such as a dedicatedliquid supply for the cartridge 4 that is separate from the precursorliquid supply, a pressure-reducing element in the conduit, aflow-restrictor in the conduit, a flow meter to indicate an amountand/or flow rate of fluid into the cartridge 4, a syringe, piston pumpor other positive displacement device that can meter desired amounts ofliquid (whether water, citric acid or other material) to the cartridge4, and others. In another embodiment, the activating fluid supply 20 mayinclude a gravity fed liquid supply that has a controllable deliveryrate, e.g., like the drip-type liquid supply systems used withintravenous lines for providing liquids to hospital patients, or mayspray atomized water or other liquid to provide a water vapor or othergas phase activating fluid to the cartridge 4.

A carbon dioxide gas supply 30 may be arranged to provide carbon dioxidegas from the cartridge 4 to an area where the gas is used to carbonatethe liquid 2, in this case, the carbonation tank 6. The gas supply 30may be arranged in any suitable way, and in this illustrative embodimentincludes a conduit that is fluidly connected between the cartridge 4 anda carbonated liquid outlet of the carbonation tank 6. A gas controlvalve 51 d is controllable by the control circuit 5 to open and closethe flow path through the gas supply conduit. (Note that in someembodiments, the valve 51 d may be a check valve that is notcontrollable by the control circuit 5.) In accordance with an aspect ofthe invention, the carbonation gas is delivered via a carbonating gassupply line that is fluidly coupled to the dispense line of thecarbonation tank so as to deliver carbon dioxide gas to the outlet ofthe carbonation tank to carbonate the precursor liquid. This arrangementmay provide advantages, such as introducing the carbonating gas at arelatively low point in the tank, which may help increase contact of thegas with the precursor liquid, thereby enhancing dissolution of the gas.In addition, the flow of carbonating gas through at least a portion ofthe dispense line 38 may help purge the dispense line 38 of liquid,helping to re-carbonate the liquid, if necessary. The gas conduit may beconnected to the dispense line 38 close to the dispense valve 51 e so asto purge as much liquid from the dispense line 38 as possible.

The gas supply 30 may include other components than a conduit and valve,such as pressure regulators, safety valves, additional control valves, acompressor or pump (e.g., to increase a pressure of the gas), anaccumulator (e.g., to help maintain a relatively constant gas pressureand/or store gas), and so on. (The use of an accumulator or similar gasstorage device may obviate the need to control the rate of gas output bya cartridge. Instead, the gas source may be permitted to emit gas in anuncontrolled manner, with the emitted gas being stored in an accumulatorfor later delivery and use in producing a sparkling beverage. Gasreleased from the accumulator could be released in a controlled manner,e.g., at a controlled pressure and/or flow rate.) Also, carbonation ofthe precursor liquid 2 may occur via one or more mechanisms orprocesses, and thus is not limited to one particular process. Forexample, while delivery of carbon dioxide gas to the outlet of thecarbonation tank 6 may function to help dissolve carbon dioxide in theliquid 2, other system components may further aid in the carbonationprocess. In some embodiments, a sparger may be used to introduce gasinto the carbonation tank, precursor liquid may be circulated in thetank, and/or other techniques may be used to alter a rate at whichcarbonating gas is dissolved.

Before, during and/or after carbonation of the liquid 2 in thecarbonation tank 6, the cooling system 7 may chill the liquid 2. Asnoted above, the cooling system 7 may operate in any suitable way, e.g.,may include ice, refrigeration coils or other cooling elements inthermal contact with the carbonation tank 6. In addition, thecarbonation tank 6 may include a mixer or other agitator to move theliquid in the tank 6 to enhance gas dissolution and/or cooling.Operation in forming a beverage may continue for a preset amount oftime, or based on other conditions, such as a detected level ofcarbonation, a drop in gas production by the cartridge 4, or otherparameters. During operation, the amount of liquid provided to thecartridge 4 may be controlled to control gas output by the cartridge 4.Control of the liquid provided to the cartridge 4 may be made based on atiming sequence (e.g., the valve 51 c may be opened for a period oftime, followed by valve closure for a period, and so on), based ondetected pressure (e.g., liquid supply may be stopped when the pressurein the tank 6 exceeds a threshold, and resume when the pressure fallsbelow the threshold or another value), based on a volume of activatingliquid delivered to the holder 3 (e.g., a specific volume of liquid maybe delivered to the cartridge 4 in one or more discrete volumes), orother arrangements.

With the precursor liquid 2 in the carbonation tank 6 ready fordispensing, the vent valve 51 b may be opened to reduce the pressure inthe carbonation tank 6 to an ambient pressure. As is known in the art,depressurizing the carbonation tank prior to dispensing may aid inmaintaining a desired carbonation level of the liquid during dispensing.With the tank 6 vented, the vent valve 51 b may be closed and a pumpvent valve 51 a may be opened. The pump 13 may then be operated to drawair or other gas into the inlet side of the pump 13 and pump the gasinto the carbonation tank 6 so as to force the precursor liquid 2 in thetank 6 to flow into the dispense line 38. That is, the arrangement ofFIG. 6 incorporates another aspect of the invention in that a singlepump may be used to both deliver precursor liquid to a carbonation tankor other carbonation location as well as deliver pressurized gas (air)to the carbonation tank to dispense carbonated liquid from the tank.This feature, optionally combined with the feature of using the samepump to deliver activating fluid to a gas source, may make for asimplified system with fewer components. While the pump 13 delivers airto the carbonation tank, the dispense valve 51 e is opened and the gasvalve 51 d is closed during liquid dispensing. The dispensed liquid mayenter a mixing chamber 9 at which the carbonated liquid and beveragemedium provided from the lower compartment 42 of the cartridge 4 arecombined. The beverage medium may be moved out of the cartridge 4 and tothe mixing chamber 9 by introducing pressurized gas into the lowercompartment 42, e.g., by way of an air pump 43. Other arrangements arepossible, however, such as routing gas from the upper compartment 41under pressure to the lower compartment 42.

The control circuit 5 may use one or more sensors to control acarbonation level of the precursor liquid, a temperature to which theliquid is chilled (if at all), a time at which and during which beveragemedium is delivered to the mixing chamber 9, a rate at which carbonatinggas is produced and delivered to the tank 6, and/or other aspects of thebeverage making process. For example, a temperature sensor may detectthe temperature of the precursor liquid in the carbonation tank 6. Thisinformation may be used to control system operation, e.g., warmerprecursor liquid temperatures may cause the control circuit 5 toincrease an amount of time allowed for carbon dioxide gas to bedissolved in the precursor liquid 2. In other arrangements, thetemperature of the precursor liquid 2 may be used to determine whetherthe system 1 will be operated to carbonate the liquid 2 or not. Forexample, in some arrangements, the user may be required to add suitablycold liquid 2 (and/or ice) to the reservoir 11 before the system 1 willoperate. (As discussed above, relatively warm precursor liquid 2temperatures may cause the liquid to be insufficiently carbonated insome conditions.) In another embodiment, a pressure sensor may be usedto detect a pressure in the carbonation tank 6. This information may beused to determine whether the carbonation tank 6 is properly orimproperly filled, if a pressure leak is present, if carbonation iscomplete and/or to determine whether sufficient carbon dioxide gas isbeing produced by the cartridge 4. For example, low detected pressuremay indicate that more carbon dioxide needs to be generated, and thuscause the control circuit 5 to allow more liquid to be delivered by theactivating fluid supply 20 to the cartridge 4. Likewise, high pressuresmay cause the flow of liquid from the activating fluid supply 20 to beslowed or stopped. Thus, the control circuit 5 can control the gaspressure in the carbonation tank 6 and/or other areas of the system 1 bycontrolling an amount of liquid delivered to the cartridge 4.Alternately, low pressure may indicate that there is a leak in thesystem and cause the system to indicate an error is present. In someembodiments, measured pressure may indicate that carbonation iscomplete. For example, pressure in the tank 6 may initially be detectedto be at a high level, e.g., around 70-80 psi, and later be detected tobe at a low level, e.g., around 40 psi due to gas being dissolved in theliquid. The low pressure detection may indicate that carbonation iscomplete. A sensor could also detect the presence of a cartridge 4 inthe cartridge holder 3, e.g., via RFID tag, optical recognition,physical sensing, etc. If no cartridge 4 is detected, or if the controlcircuit 5 detects that the cartridge 4 is spent, the control circuit 5may prompt the user to insert a new or different cartridge 4. Forexample, in some embodiments, a single cartridge 4 may be used tocarbonate multiple volumes of precursor liquid 2. The control circuit 5may keep track of the number of times that the cartridge 4 has beenused, and once a limit has been reached (e.g., 10 drinks), prompt theuser to replace the cartridge. Other parameters may be detected by asensor, such as a carbonation level of the precursor liquid 2 (which maybe used to control the carbonation process), the presence of a suitablevessel to receive a beverage discharged from the system 1 (e.g., toprevent beverage from being spilled), the presence of water or otherprecursor liquid 2 in the carbonation tank 6 or elsewhere in theprecursor supply 10, a flow rate of liquid in the pump 13 or associatedconduit, the presence of a headspace in the carbonation tank 6 (e.g., ifno headspace is desired, a valve may be activated to discharge theheadspace gas, or if only carbon dioxide is desired to be in theheadspace, a snifting valve may be activated to discharge air in theheadspace and replace the air with carbon dioxide), and so on.

The control circuit 5 may also be arranged to allow a user to define alevel of carbonation (i.e., amount of dissolved gas in the beverage,whether carbon dioxide or other). For example, the control circuit 5 mayinclude a touch screen display or other user interface 52 that allowsthe user to define a desired carbonation level, such as by allowing theuser to select a carbonation volume level of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, orselecting one of a low, medium or high carbonation level. Cartridgesused by the system 1 may include sufficient gas source material to makethe highest level of carbonation selectable, but the control circuit 5may control the system to dissolve an amount of gas in the beverage thatis consistent with the selected level. For example, while all cartridgesmay be arranged for use in creating a “high” carbonation beverage, thecontrol circuit 5 may operate the system 1 to use less of the availablegas (or cause the gas source to emit less gas than possible) incarbonating the beverage. Carbonation levels may be controlled based ona detected carbonation level by a sensor, a detected pressure in thecarbonation tank 6 or elsewhere, an amount of gas output by thecartridge 4, or other features.

In another embodiment, the cartridge 4 may include indicia readably bythe controller, e.g., an RFID tag, barcode, alphanumeric string, etc.,that indicates a carbonation level to be used for the beverage. Afterdetermining the carbonation level from the cartridge 4, the controlcircuit 5 may control the system 1 accordingly. Thus, a user need notselect the carbonation level by interacting with the system 1, butrather a carbonation level may be automatically adjusted based on thebeverage selected. In yet another embodiment, a user may be able toselect a gas source cartridge 4 that matches a carbonation level theuser desires. (Different carbonation levels may be provided in thedifferent cartridges by having different amounts of gas source in thecartridge 4.) For example, cartridges providing low, medium and highcarbonation levels may be provided for selection by a user, and the usermay pick the cartridge that matches the desired carbonation level, andprovide the selected cartridge to the system 1. Thus, a gas sourcecartridge labeled “low” may be chosen and used with the system to createa low level carbonated beverage.

A user may alternately be permitted to define characteristics of abeverage to be made by interacting in some way with a cartridge 4 to beused by the system 1. For example, tab, notch or other physical featureof the cartridge may be altered or formed by the user to signify adesired beverage characteristic. For example, a broken tab, sliderindicator, a covered or uncovered perforation on a portion of thecartridge, etc., that is created by the user may indicate a desiredcarbonation level, an amount of beverage medium to use in forming thebeverage (where the system 1 is controllable to use less than all of thebeverage medium in the cartridge to form a beverage), and so on.Features in the cartridge 4 may also be used by the control circuit 5 todetect features of the cartridge, a beverage being formed or othercomponents of the system 1. For example, light guides in a cartridge 4may provide a light path to allow the controller 5 to optically detect alevel of beverage medium in the cartridge 4, a flow of precursor liquidin the cartridge 4, pressure in the cartridge (e.g., where deflection ofa cartridge portion can be detected and indicates a pressure), aposition of a piston, valve or other cartridge component, an absence ofbeverage medium in the cartridge (to signify completion of beverageformation), and so on. Other sensor features may be incorporated intothe cartridge, such as electrical sensor contacts (e.g., to provideconductivity measurements representative of a carbonation level or otherproperties of a precursor liquid), an acoustic sensor (to detect gasemission, fluid flow, or other characteristics of the cartridge), and soon.

FIG. 7 shows another illustrative arrangement for flow circuitry in abeverage making system 1 that is similar to that of FIG. 6. However, inthis embodiment, the activating fluid supply 20 includes a dedicatedpump 13 that is distinct from a pump 14 that is part of the precursorliquid supply 10. Also, unlike the arrangement of FIG. 6, the precursorliquid supply 10 includes first and second check valves 51 f and 51 gupstream and downstream of the pump 14, which may be a diaphragm pump.The check valves 51 f, 51 g may help prevent backflow from thecarbonation tank 6, e.g., when the tank 6 is relatively highlypressurized during the carbonating process. Otherwise, the configurationand operation of the flow circuitry of FIG. 7 is identical to that ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows yet another configuration for a beverage making system 1.Again, this arrangement is similar to that of FIG. 6, with a maindifference being that, in accordance with an aspect of the invention,the carbonating gas supply includes a water trap 81 through whichcarbonation gas from the cartridge 4 is routed prior to passing througha gas control valve 51 d and to the carbonation tank 6. The water trap81 may help remove water droplets from the carbonation gas, which may bedrained through a vent valve 51 a. That is, activating fluid is directedto the upper compartment 41 of the cartridge 4 by closing a vent valve51 a and pump line valve 51 b, opening an activating fluid valve 51 c,and operating the pump 13 to pump liquid 2 to the upper compartment 41.Carbonating gas is directed to the carbonation tank 6 by closing thevent valve 51 a and pump line valve 51 b, and opening the gas supplyvalve 51 d. Note also that, in accordance with an aspect of theinvention, the pressure of the carbonating gas is connected to the inletside of the pump 13 while the pump 13 delivers activating fluid to thecartridge 4. This may help equalize or nearly equalize pressures oninlet and outlet sides of the pump 13, making pump 13 operation requireless power during activating fluid delivery. With carbonation complete,the carbonation tank 6 may be vented by opening the gas control valve 51d and the vent valve 51 a. To dispense carbonated precursor liquid 2from the tank 6, the vent valve 51 a, pump line valve 51 b and dispensevalve 51 e may be opened, the activating liquid supply valve 51 c andgas control valve 51 d closed, and the pump 13 operated to pump air intothe carbonation tank 6 so liquid flows to the dispense line 38. Notethat the activating liquid supply valve 51 c and pump line valve 51 bcould be replaced with a single three way valve, like the three wayvalve 51 c in FIG. 6. Also, this arrangement shows a mixing chamber 9located immediately at the outlet of the lower compartment 42 of thecartridge 4. Other arrangements are possible, however, including havingthe mixing chamber 9 be arranged as part of the cartridge, e.g.,precursor liquid 2 could be routed from the dispense line 38 directlyinto a portion of the cartridge 4.

In one aspect of the invention, the carbonation tank is surrounded by acooling container that contains a cooling liquid and thermallyconductive fins extend between the carbonation tank and the coolingcontainer. In some arrangements, the cooling liquid may be frozen, inwhole or in part, and the fins may extend radially outwardly from thecarbonation tank and/or radially inwardly from an outer wall of thecooling container. Thus, at least some of the fins extending between thecarbonation tank and the cooling container may be arranged to conductheat from the tank to the cooling liquid. FIG. 9 shows a cross sectionalside view of a carbonation tank and cooling container in an illustrativeembodiment. While other arrangements are possible, in this embodimentthe carbonation tank 6 includes fins 63 that extend outwardly toward anouter wall of the cooling container 71, and the cooling container 71includes fins 73 that extend inwardly toward the inner wall of thecarbonation tank 6. The cooling liquid 72 is contained between thecooling container 71 outer wall and the carbonation tank 6 inner walland is in contact with at least some of the fins 63, 73. The carbonationtank 6 also includes an impeller or mixer 62 that is rotatable by amixer drive 64 so as to mix the precursor liquid 2 in the carbonationtank 6. Movement of the liquid 2 by the mixer 62 may form a vortex orother configuration such that the liquid 2 moves upwardly along theinner wall of the carbonation tank 6 and forms a void around a center ofrotation of the mixer 62. This arrangement may have two (or more)effects, including increasing an exposed surface area of the liquid 2 atthe void, thereby enhancing dissolution of carbon dioxide in the liquid2, and increasing an area of contact between the liquid 2 and the innerwall of the carbonation tank 6, thereby enhancing heat transfer.Movement of the liquid 2 may also cause mixing and/or turbulence, whichmay also enhance gas dissolution and/or heat transfer. The mixer 62 maybe driven by any suitable arrangement, such as a magnetically-coupledmotor drive, a drive shaft that extends through a bottom wall of thecarbonation tank 6, or other.

FIG. 10 shows an exploded view of the carbonation tank/cooling containerassembly in this embodiment. The carbonation tank 6 may be made as anextruded member, including both the inner wall and fins 63, and may bereceived within a space defined by the cooling container 71, which mayalso be made as an extruded member with the outer wall and fins 73. Withthe tank 6 positioned in the cooling container 71, sealing gaskets 66and end caps 65 may be assembled at the top and bottom of the tank6/container 71 to seal closed the carbonation tank 6 and the spacebetween the carbonation tank 6 and the cooling container 71 where thecooling liquid 72 is located. Prior to being sealed closed by the endcaps 65, the carbonation tank 6 may have the mixer 62 suitablypositioned, and cooling liquid 72 may be provided around the tank 6. Themixer drive 64 may include a motor 64 a,drive belt 64 b and drive pulley64 c (or other arrangement) to rotate the mixer 62. Insulation 74 mayalso be provided around the cooling container 71, if desired.

FIG. 11 shows a top view of a carbonation tank 6 assembled with acooling container 71, and FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of thecarbonation tank 6 alone in another embodiment. In this embodiment, theinner wall of the carbonation tank 6 has a cylindrical shape, but othershapes are possible. Also, the cooling container 71 includes coolingdevice mounts 67 on opposed sides, but such mounts are not necessary,e.g., may be provided on the carbonation tank 6, if desired. The coolingdevice mounts 67 are configured to receive thermoelectric coolingdevices that are directly mounted to the exposed surface of the mounts67 so the thermoelectric devices can receive heat from the precursorliquid in the tank 6 and/or the cooling liquid 72, but otherarrangements are possible, such as thermally coupling one or more heatpipes, a refrigeration coil, a heat sink or other devices to receiveheat from the carbonation tank 6 is possible.

In this embodiment, the carbonation tank 6 includes a plurality of fins63 that have a portion which is attached to the tank and extendsradially away from the tank wall. Similarly, the cooling container 71includes a plurality of fins 73 that have a portion which is attached tothe outer wall of the container 71 and extend inwardly. The fin portions63 engage with the fin portions 73 so that the fin portions 63, 73 canexchange heat at the area of contact of the fin portions 63, 73. Thatis, the fin portions 63, 73 have side surfaces that contact each other,e.g., overlapping portions, so that the portions 63, 73 can transferheat. In this arrangement, the side surfaces of at least some of the finportions 63, 73 are pressed together so as to be in contact, but areseparable from each other, e.g., are not welded or adhered to eachother. In some cases like that shown in FIG. 10, the cooling containerand tank may be assembled by inserting the tank 6 inside of the coolingcontainer 71 and such that the side surfaces of corresponding finportions 63, 73 fins are pressed into contact with each other. Forexample, side surfaces of an adjacent pair of fin portions 63 of thecarbonation tank 6 may be positioned inside of, and in contact with,opposed side surfaces of an adjacent pair of fin portions 73 of thecooling container 71. Contact of the fin portions 63, 73 may cause thefin portions 63, 73 to flex, thereby biasing the side surfaces of thefin portions 63, 73 into contact with each other. Of course, otherarrangements are possible, and as can be seen in FIG. 11, not every finportion 63, 73 need contact another fin portion 63, 73. Also, in thisembodiment, the cooling container 71 is arranged have a continuous outerwall that encloses the carbonation tank 6 as in FIG. 10, but thecontainer 71 could be arranged as a clam shell type arrangement with twowall sections that sandwich the carbonation tank 6 so that a portion ofthe tank 6, such as a portion that includes mounts 67, are exposed.Thus, this configuration can be changed, e.g., the container 71 caninclude the mounts 67 which are pressed into contact with the inner wallof the carbonation tank 6 and/or fins 63 to receive heat from the tank6. Alternately, the container 71 and the carbonation tank 6 could bemolded or extruded as a single, unitary part, e.g., made of injectionmolded plastic.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a cooling system forchilling precursor liquid may include a thermoelectric device thermallycoupled to a carbonation tank to cool precursor liquid in the tank, oneor more heat pipes each having an evaporator section thermally coupledto the thermoelectric device to receive heat from the thermoelectriccooler, and a heat sink thermally coupled to the condenser section ofthe one or more heat pipes to receive heat from the heat pipe. Such anarrangement has been found to be particularly effective in rapidlycooling precursor liquid, especially with the relatively low power drawrequirements for household appliances in some jurisdictions, e.g.,115-120 volts, 15-20 amps maximum. That is, using heat pipes tothermally couple the “hot” side of a thermoelectric device to a heatsink has been found to be significantly more effective in suitablycooling the thermoelectric device than having a heat sink in directcontact with the “hot” side of the thermoelectric device.

FIG. 13 shows one illustrative embodiment in which two thermoelectricdevices 75 (only one is shown in FIG. 13) are coupled to thethermoelectric device mounts 67 of the carbonation tank 6. Heat pipes 76(six for each thermoelectric device 75 in this embodiment though othernumbers are possible) have respective evaporator sections coupled to thethermoelectric device, and have respective condenser sections coupled toa heat sink 77, e.g., a set of radiator fins. Air may be moved over theheat sinks 77 by a fan 78, and a duct 79 may suitably direct the flow ofair such that relatively cool air enters a duct inlet 79 b near a bottomof the duct 79 and exits a duct outlet 79 a at the fan 78.

FIG. 14 shows another cooling system 7 arrangement that also has twothermoelectric devices 75 and corresponding heat pipes 76 and heat sinks77. However, in this embodiment, the fan 78, duct 79 and the heat sinks77 are differently arranged such that the fan 78 is at the duct inlet 79b and pushes cooling air into the duct 79 so the air may pass throughthe heat sinks 77 and exit via a respective duct outlet 79 a located ateach heat sink 77. This configuration could be used in an arrangementdiscussed above where a duct outlet 79 a is located at a top of a systemhousing 21 and adjacent a precursor liquid inlet opening. For example,the duct 79 in this embodiment is arranged so that liquid entering theduct outlet 79 a can flow downwardly in the duct 79 to a bottom of thehousing 21. Openings in the duct 79 at the bottom of the housing 21 mayallow the liquid to exit, e.g., and exit the housing 21. The duct 79 isisolated from electronic components of the system 1, and the heat pipes76 may pass through the duct walls to couple with a heat sink 77positioned in the duct 79.

FIG. 15 shows another arrangement with a fan 78 positioned at a ductinlet 79 b. However, in this case, the heat sinks 77 are positioned nearthe fan 78 so incoming air flows over the heat sinks 77, and then flowsupwardly through the duct 79 to a duct outlet 79 a at a top of the duct79. This arrangement, like FIG. 14, may also be used in a configurationwhere a duct outlet 79 a is located at a top of a system housing 21 andadjacent a precursor liquid inlet opening. Any liquid entering the ductoutlet 79 a may flow down the duct 79 and out through one or moreopenings at a low point of the duct 79. Those of skill in the art willappreciate that other arrangements are possible, including those withmore or fewer thermoelectric devices 75, heat pipes 76, or heat sinks77.

In one aspect of the invention, a method for chilling precursor liquidincludes providing a cooling liquid bath around a tank containingprecursor liquid to be chilled. For example, in the embodiments above,the cooling liquid 72 may be provided around the carbonation tank 6. Thecooling liquid may be cooled to freeze at least some of the coolingliquid so as to form ice. For example, the thermoelectric devices 75 maybe operated to remove heat from the cooling container 71, cooling liquid72 and carbonation tank 6 so that the cooling liquid 72 is at leastpartially frozen. In the case of water, the cooling liquid 72 may bechilled to about 0 degrees C. to form ice. A temperature of the coolingliquid may be monitored while cooling, and cooling of the cooling liquidmay be stopped when the temperature of the cooling liquid drops to atemperature that is more than a first threshold below a freezingtemperature of the liquid. For example, the cooling liquid 72 may bechilled to a temperature about −4 degrees C., i.e., more than athreshold of 2-4 degrees below a 0 degree C. freezing temperature forthe cooling liquid 72 in the case of water. Of course, a glycol or otheranti-freeze compound may be provided to lower the freezing temperatureof the cooling liquid, if desired.

In some cases, cooling of the cooling liquid may start when thetemperature of the cooling liquid is a temperature above a secondthreshold above a freezing temperature of the liquid. That is, once thecooling liquid is suitably chilled below its freezing temperature, thethermoelectric devices or other devices may stop operating until thecooling liquid warms to a temperature that is more than a secondthreshold above or below the cooling liquid's freezing temperature. Inthe example above, cooling of the cooling liquid may start upon thecooling liquid warming to a temperature of that is 1-2 degrees below its0 degree C. freezing temperature. Of course, other thresholds may beused than a threshold of 1 to 2 degrees C. For example, the first and/orsecond threshold may be 1 to 4 degrees C.

As described above, heat may be removed from the cooling liquid indifferent ways, such as by operating a thermoelectric device andremoving heat from the thermoelectric device by at least one heat pipeand a heat sink. The thermoelectric device may remove heat from thecooling liquid by removing heat from the cooling container and/or fromthe carbonation tank.

While systems for making a beverage may be used with different cartridgeconfigurations, FIGS. 16 and 17 shows a cartridge 4 that may be usedwith a beverage making system 1. In this embodiment, the cartridge 4includes a container that defines an upper compartment or chamber 41, alower compartment or chamber 42, and a rim or band 44 between a top andbottom of the cartridge 4. The top of the cartridge 4 includes a lid 45that covers an opening of the container. The lid 45 is piercable to formone or more openings so as to access a gas source (not shown) in theupper compartment 41. (Although in this embodiment, the lid 45 is aseparate element, such as a sheet of foil/polymer laminate attached tothe container body, the lid may be molded or otherwise formed integrallywith the body.) Also, a filter 45 a may be positioned below the lid 45,e.g., spaced apart from the lid 45 but parallel to the lid 45 althoughother arrangements are possible. This filter 45 a may help prevent gassource material from exiting the upper compartment 41 during gasproduction. The upper compartment 41 is also defined in part by a wall49 that has a concave up curve, but such a shape is not necessary, e.g.,the wall 49 may be flat or concave down. The cartridge 4 also includes apiercable inlet 47 located at an underside of the rim 44 and at anindexing groove 46 of the cartridge 4. As is discussed in more detailbelow, the inlet 47 may be pierced to allow access to the lowercompartment 42, e.g., so pressurized gas or liquid can be introducedinto the lower compartment 42 to move a beverage medium (not shown) outof an outlet 48 of the lower compartment 42. In this embodiment, theoutlet 48 includes a piercable membrane that can be pierced and openedto allow the beverage medium to exit, although other arrangements arepossible, e.g., a self-closing septum valve or burstable seal may beprovided at the outlet 48 that opens with increased pressure in thelower compartment 48. Cartridges are not limited to the arrangementshown in FIGS. 16 and 17, however, and a beverage making system 1 may bearranged to operate with cartridges 4 that include only a gas source(e.g., only a rim 44 and upper compartment 41) to make a carbonatedwater, or only a beverage medium (e.g., only a rim 44 and lowercompartment 42 like that shown in FIG. 18) to make a still, flavoredbeverage.

The cartridge 4 may be made of any suitable materials, and is notnecessarily limited to the constructions shown herein. For example, thecartridge may be made of, or otherwise include, materials that provide abarrier to moisture and/or gases, such as oxygen, water vapor, etc. Inone embodiment, the cartridge may be made of a polymer laminate, e.g.,formed from a sheet including a layer of polystyrene, polypropyleneand/or a layer of EVOH and/or other barrier material, such as a metallicfoil. Moreover, the cartridge materials and/or construction may varyaccording to the materials contained in the cartridge. For example, aportion of the cartridge 4 containing a gas source material may requirea robust moisture barrier, whereas a beverage medium portion may notrequire such a high moisture resistance. Thus, the cartridges may bemade of different materials and/or in different ways. In addition, thecartridge interior may be differently constructed according to a desiredfunction. For example, a beverage medium cartridge portion may includebaffles or other structures that cause the liquid/beverage medium tofollow a tortuous path so as to encourage mixing. The gas sourcecartridge portion may be arranged to hold the gas source in a particularlocation or other arrangement in the interior space, e.g., to helpcontrol wetting of the gas source with activating liquid. Thus, as usedherein, a “cartridge” may take any suitable form, such as a pod (e.g.,opposed layers of filter paper encapsulating a material), capsule,sachet, package, or any other arrangement. The cartridge may have adefined shape, or may have no defined shape (as is the case with somesachets or other packages made entirely of flexible material). Thecartridge may be impervious to air and/or liquid, or may allow waterand/or air to pass into the cartridge.

A cartridge may also be arranged to provide a visual or other detectableindication regarding the cartridge's fitness for use in forming abeverage. For example, the cartridge may include a pop-up indicator,color indicator or other feature to show that the gas source has been atleast partially activated. Upon viewing this indication, a user maydetermine that the cartridge is not fit for use in a beverage makingmachine. In another embodiment, an RFID tag may be associated with asensor that detects gas source activation (e.g., via pressure increase),beverage medium spoilage (e.g., via temperature increase), or othercharacteristic of the cartridge, which may be transmitted to a reader ofa beverage making machine. The machine may display the condition to auser and/or prevent activation of the machine to use the cartridge toform a beverage.

In one aspect of the invention, the cartridge or cartridges used to forma beverage using the beverage making system may have a volume that isless, and in some cases substantially less, than a beverage to be madeusing the cartridge(s). For example, a cartridge may have upper andlower compartments 41, 42 that each have a volume that is about 50 ml orless, and yet can be used to form a beverage having a volume of about200-500 ml or more. The inventors have found (as shown in some of theExamples below) that an amount of charged carbon dioxide adsorbent(e.g., a charged zeolite) of about 30 grams (which has a volume of lessthan 30 ml) can be used to produce about 300-500 ml of carbonated waterhaving a carbonation level of up to about 3.5 volumes. Moreover, it iswell known that beverage-making syrups or powders having a volume ofless than about 50 ml, or less than about 100 ml, can be used to make asuitably flavored beverage having a volume of about 300-500 ml. Thus,relatively small volume cartridges (or a single cartridge in somearrangements) having a volume of about 100 ml to about 250 ml or lessmay be used to form a carbonated beverage having a volume of about 100to 1000 ml, and a carbonation level of at least about 1.5 to 4 volumesin less than 120 seconds, e.g., about 60 seconds, and using pressuresunder 80 psi.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a cartridge may be heldby a cartridge holder of a beverage making machine such that an uppercompartment of the cartridge is held in a space and has a pressure thatis different from a space where a lower compartment of the cartridge isheld. For example, the upper compartment may be held in a sealed spacearranged to receive relatively high pressure gas used to carbonate theprecursor liquid, while the lower compartment is held at ambientpressure. Such an arrangement may help isolate the lower compartmentfrom relatively high pressures, e.g., preventing premature dispensing ofbeverage medium by introduction of high pressure gas into the lowercompartment 42. FIGS. 19 and 20 show a cross sectional side view of acartridge holder 3 that may be included with the system 1 shown in FIGS.1-4 and which may operate with a cartridge like that shown in FIGS.16-18. In this embodiment, a lower portion of the cartridge holderincludes a sliding drawer 31 shown in an open position with a cartridge4 positioned in a basket 32, i.e., a cartridge receiver. The cartridgemay be received in the basket 32 so that the rim 44 rests on an upperledge or surface of the basket 32 so the basket 32 supports the weightof the cartridge 4. With the cartridge 4 in the basket 32, the drawer 31may be moved to a closed position shown in FIG. 20. Thereafter, an upperportion of the cartridge holder 3 may move downwardly to clamp thecartridge 4 in place, e.g., to house the upper compartment 41 in asealed space. In this embodiment, the upper portion of the cartridgeholder includes a threaded sleeve 34 that carries a piston 36 and canmove downwardly relative to the cartridge 4 so that a lower surface ofthe piston 36 contacts the cartridge rim 44 and clamps downwardly on therim 44 to form a seal between the piston 36 and the rim 44. In theembodiment, a wave spring or other resilient element is positionedbetween the threaded sleeve 34 and the piston 36 that urges the piston36 to move downwardly relative to the sleeve 34. The threaded sleeve 34and piston 36 move downwardly by rotation of a rotatable sleeve 35positioned around a part of the threaded sleeve 34. Specifically, as canbe seen in FIG. 21, a worm gear of a motor drive 37 may engage a gear ofthe rotatable sleeve 35 so that the motor drive 37 can rotate therotatable sleeve 35 relative to the threaded sleeve 34. Since therotatable sleeve 35 and the threaded sleeve 34 are engaged by a threadconnection, rotation of the rotatable sleeve 35 causes the threadedsleeve 34 to move downwardly (or upwardly, depending on the direction ofrotation of the rotatable sleeve 35) relative to the cartridge 4.

As the threaded sleeve 34 and the piston 36 move downwardly, the uppercompartment 41 of the cartridge 4 may be received into the threadedsleeve 34/piston 36 until the piston 36 contact the cartridge rim 44 andurges the cartridge 4 to move downwardly against the lower portion ofthe cartridge holder. (Downward movement of the sleeve 34 relative tothe piston 36 compresses the wave spring or other resilient elementbetween the sleeve 34 and the piston 36.) This downward movement cancause two actions, i.e., piercing of the inlet 47 and the outlet 48 ofthe lower compartment 42. That is, the basket 32 may be movable in avertical direction relative to the drawer 31, yet be spring biased tomove upwardly and remain in an upper position even with the cartridge 4in the basket 32. However, the clamping force of the upper portion ofthe cartridge holder (e.g., the threaded sleeve 34 and piston 36) canovercome the spring bias on the basket 32, causing the basket 32 and thecartridge 4 to move downwardly relative to the drawer 31. This downwardmovement may cause a dispense gas piercing element 33 to contact thecartridge at the inlet 47 and pierce the inlet 47 so that the dispensegas piercing element 33 can deliver pressurized gas into the lowercompartment 42. (A gasket or other seal at the piercing element 33 canengage the cartridge 4 at the inlet 47 to form a leak-resistantconnection at the inlet 47. As will also be understood, the dispense gaspiercing element 33 may be connected to a line that provides pressurizedgas, e.g., from an air pump 43.) In accordance with an aspect of theinvention, the cartridge may be pierced at an underside of the rim 44 toprovide an opening through which pressurized gas can be introduced tomove beverage medium out of the lower compartment 42. Since the rim 44may be made relatively robustly to establish a desired seal with thecartridge holder and to oppose a piercing force of the piercing element33, a remainder of the cartridge 4 may be made out of relatively weak orless robust material or construction, e.g., to reduce cost and/or weightof the cartridge. Thus, the cartridge may be arranged to allow forreliable piercing for introduction of pressurized gas into the lowercompartment 42 and sealing with the cartridge holder at the rim 44, yetstill keep materials requirements to a minimum.

Downward movement of the cartridge 4 and basket 32 may also cause anoutlet piercing element 39 to contact the piercable membrane or othercartridge portion at the outlet 48 so that the outlet 48 is opened. Inthis embodiment, the outlet piercing element 39 includes an annular rimthat contacts the piercable membrane and is received into an annulargroove of the cartridge 4 above the piercable membrane. Movement of theannular rim into the groove stresses the piercable membrane such thatthe membrane, which may be scored or otherwise have a line of weaknessthat defines a preferential opening area, to be pierced and pulled backso the outlet 48 can dispense beverage medium to the dispense station29. A dispense line 38 for precursor liquid may also lead to thedispense station 29 so the precursor liquid 2 and beverage medium can bedispensed together, or separately, into a user's cup 8.

Downward movement of the upper portion of the cartridge holder 3 mayalso cause piercing of the cartridge lid 45 or other action such thatthe upper compartment 41 can be accessed. In this illustrativeembodiment, the piston 36 includes a pair of piercing elements 361arranged to pierce the lid 45 to introduce activating fluid into theupper compartment 41, and a piercing element 362 arranged to pierce thelid 45 to allow gas emitted by the gas source to exit the cartridge 4.Though not necessary, the piercing elements 361 are arranged topenetrate through the lid 45 and the filter 45 a so that activatingfluid can be introduced below the filter 45 a. However, the piercingelement 362 is arranged to pierce only the lid 45, but not the filter 45a. In this way, gas emitted in the upper compartment 41 must passthrough the filter 45 a before exiting to the carbonating gas supply.This may help prevent gas source material, such as zeolite particles,from exiting the cartridge 4 and passing to the carbonating gas supply30. A variety of arrangements are possible for the filter 45 a, such asa piece of filter paper mentioned above, a hydrophobic non-wovenmaterial that permits gas to pass, but resists liquid passage, or otherelement that permits gas to exit the cartridge 4, but resists movementof gas source material and/or liquid. In addition or alternately to thefilter 45 a, a conduit that receives the carbonating gas may include afilter element, such as a filter plug in the conduit, to help furtherresist movement of gas source materials to the carbonation tank 6. Thepiercing elements, may include a hollow needle, spike, blade, knife orother arrangement, to form a suitable opening in the cartridge 4. Inthis embodiment, the piercing elements 361 include tubular elements withan activating fluid discharge opening at a distal end such thatactivating fluid can be released from the piercing elements 361 belowthe filter 45 a. In contrast, the piercing element 362 is relativelydull so as to penetrate the lid 45, but not the filter 45 a.Alternately, the cartridge 4 may have defined openings, e.g., one ormore ports, that include a septum or other valve-type element thatpermits flow into and/or out of the cartridge 4.

It should be understood that a cartridge holder 3 is not necessarilylimited to the embodiments described herein. For example, the cartridgeholder may open and close in any suitable way to allow cartridges 4 tobe placed in and/or removed from the holder 3. In one embodiment, acartridge holder may include a lid pivotally mounted to a receiverportion of the holder 3, and may be opened and closed manually, such asby a handle and linkage arrangement, or automatically, such as by amotor drive, to close the cartridge holder 3. Of course, the lid may bearranged in other ways, such as being engaged with the cartridgereceiver by a threaded connection (like a screw cap), by the cartridgereceiver moving relative to the lid while the lid remains stationary, byboth the lid and receiver portion moving, and so on. In addition, acartridge holder 3 need not necessarily have a lid and receiverarrangement, but instead may have any suitable member or members thatcooperate to open/close and support a cartridge. For example, a pair ofclamshell members may be movable relative to each other to allow receiptof a cartridge and physical support of the cartridge. Some otherillustrative cartridge holder arrangements are shown, for example, inU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,142,063; 6,606,938; 6,644,173; and 7,165,488. Asmentioned above, the cartridge holder 3 may allow a user to place one ormore cartridges in the holder 3 without the need for the user to takespecial steps to establish a pressure-tight, leak-proof or otherspecialized connection between the cartridge and other portions of thesystem 1. Instead, in some embodiments, the user may be able to simplyplace the cartridge in a receiving space, and close the cartridgeholder.

While in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 a beverage medium andprecursor liquid are dispense separately into a user's cup, in oneaspect of the invention, beverage medium and precursor liquid are mixedin a mixing chamber and then dispensed to a user's cup. While suchmixing may not completely combine beverage medium and precursor liquidtogether to form a completely homogenous beverage, the beverage mediumand precursor liquid may be combined at least in some way, e.g., likethat found in some soda fountains. As can be seen in FIGS. 22-24, analternate embodiment that includes a mixing chamber 9 downstream of acartridge outlet 48 can operate to mix precursor liquid and beveragemedium. The mixing chamber 9 in this embodiment has three main sections,i.e., a syrup chamber 96 that receive beverage medium from a cartridge4, a precursor liquid inlet that is coupled to the dispense line 38, anda dispense outlet 93 where precursor liquid and/or beverage medium aredispensed. Pressurized gas introduced into the lower compartment 42 bythe dispense gas piercing element 33 causes beverage medium (in thiscase a syrup) to exit through the outlet 48 and enter the syrup chamber96. Pressure in the lower compartment 42 and in the syrup chamber 96forces beverage medium to move to the syrup chamber outlet 95 where thebeverage medium can flow to the dispense outlet 93. The syrup chamberoutlet 95 may include multiple channels that lead downwardly from thesyrup chamber 96, e.g., so that relatively thin streams of syrup pass tothe dispense outlet 93. These thin streams of beverage medium may allowfor faster mixing or other combination with precursor liquid that flowsfrom the dispense line 38 to the dispense outlet 93. The syrup chamber96 also has a syrup chamber inlet 94 that is in communication with theprecursor liquid that enters the mixing chamber 9 via the dispense line38. So long as relatively high pressure is present in the syrup chamber96 (due to pressurized gas being introduced into the lower compartment42), precursor liquid will generally not enter the syrup chamber 96 viathe syrup chamber inlet 94. However, once pressure in the syrup chamber96 drops to a suitable level, precursor liquid may enter the syrupchamber 96 through the syrup chamber inlet 94. (As will be understood,the size, shape and/or position of the syrup chamber inlet 94 opening(s)may influence how, whether and when precursor liquid enters the syrupchamber 96.) Precursor liquid in the syrup chamber 96 may mix with anybeverage medium that is present, as well as wash or rinse the syrupchamber 96 and syrup chamber outlet 95 of beverage medium. Accordingly,dispensing of beverage medium from the cartridge 4 may be suitably timedto start during flow of precursor liquid into the mixing chamber 9, andend before the flow of precursor liquid into the mixing chamber stops.In this way, the beverage medium may mix with precursor liquid as it isdispensed from the cartridge 4, and once beverage medium dispensing iscomplete, precursor liquid may rinse the syrup chamber 96 and syrupchamber outlet 95, e.g., so that little or no beverage medium is presentin the syrup chamber 96 once beverage dispensing is complete.

As can be seen in FIGS. 22-24, the component that defines the mixingchamber 9 may also include the outlet piercing element 39 that opens theoutlet 48 of the cartridge. That is, the mixing chamber 9 may include anannular rim 91 that functions to contact a membrane at the cartridgeoutlet 48 and move into an annular groove of the cartridge 4 as thecartridge moves downwardly so that the outlet 48 is suitably opened forbeverage medium dispensing. Moreover, the mixing chamber 9 may beremovable from the dispensing station 29, e.g., for cleaning orreplacement.

It should be understood that modifications to the illustrativeembodiment above are possible. For example, the beverage medium could bedriven from the cartridge 4 in other ways, such as by carbon dioxide gaspressure created by the cartridge 4, by gravity, by suction created byan adductor pump, venturi or other arrangement, etc., and the beveragemedium may be dispensed directly into a user's cup where the precursorliquid 2 is also introduced. Rinsing of the mixing chamber 9 may or maynot be necessary, e.g., to help prevent cross contamination betweenbeverages. In some arrangements, the entire volume of beverage mediummay be discharged into the mixing chamber, causing initial amounts offlavored precursor liquid 2 exiting the mixing chamber 9 to have a highbeverage medium concentration. However, as the beverage medium is sweptfrom the mixing chamber by the precursor liquid 2, the precursor liquiditself may effectively rinse the mixing chamber. In arrangements wherethe beverage medium is a dry material, such as a powder, some precursorliquid may be introduced into the cartridge to pre-wet the medium orotherwise improve an ability to mix the medium with precursor liquid 2.The wetted medium may be mixed with additional precursor liquid 2 in thecartridge, or the wetted medium may be expelled from the cartridge,e.g., by air pressure, a plunger, etc., to a mixing chamber or otherlocation for additional mixing with precursor liquid 2. Liquid 2 may beintroduced into a mixing chamber using multiple streams, e.g., toenhance a mixing rate using low flow speeds so as to reduce loss ofdissolved gas.

Also, the mixing chamber 9 may take other suitable forms, e.g., maycause the precursor liquid 2 and beverage medium to move in a spiral,swirl or other fashion to enhance mixing, may have one or more motordriven blades, impellers or other elements to mix contents in thechamber 9, and so on. While the mixing chamber 9 may be separate fromthe cartridge 4, the mixing chamber 9 could be incorporated into acartridge 4 if desired. The mixing chamber 9 may be cooled as well,e.g., by a refrigeration system, to help cool the beverage provided tothe cup 8. In the case where the carbonated liquid 2 is not flavored orwhere the liquid 2 is mixed with the beverage medium before passingthrough the carbonation tank 6, the mixing chamber 9 may be eliminatedor arranged to mix the precursor liquid 2 and beverage medium upstreamof the tank 6. Alternately, the precursor liquid supply 10 may bearranged to mix the precursor liquid 2 with the beverage medium in thecartridge 4 prior to routing the liquid 2 to the tank 6.

EXAMPLE 1

The release properties of a carbon dioxide adsorbent were measured inthe following way: 8×12 beads of sodium zeolite 13X (such as arecommercially available from UOP MOLSIV Adsorbents) were obtained. Thebeads were placed in a ceramic dish and fired in a Vulcan D550 furnacemanufactured by Ceramco. The temperature in the furnace containing thebeads was raised to 550° C. at a rate of 3° C./min and was held at 550°C. for 5 hours for firing and preparation of the beads for charging withcarbon dioxide.

The beads were removed from the furnace and immediately transferred to ametal container equipped with a tightly fitted lid and entrance and exitports permitting circulation of gas. With the beads sealed in thecontainer, the container was flooded with carbon dioxide gas andpressurized to 15 psig. (Note, however, that experiments have beenperformed between 5-32 psig.) The chamber was held at the set pressurefor 1 hour. During this hold period the chamber was bled every 15 min.At the end of this period a quantity of gas had adsorbed to the beads.

A 30 g sample of charged 13X zeolite was measured, and a beaker filledwith 250 ml of water at room temperature of 22° C. The beaker and waterwas placed on a balance and the balance zeroed. The 30 g of chargedzeolite was then added to the beaker and the change in weight versustime was measured. It was shown that the change in weight becameapproximately steady after a period of 50 seconds, and that the beadslost about 4.2 g (14 wt %) of weight attributed to the release of carbondioxide. Of course, some carbon dioxide may have been dissolved into thewater.

Time (sec) Weight (grams) 0 30 25 26.7 50 25.8 75 25.6 100 25.5

EXAMPLE 2

Charged zeolite 13X was prepared as in Example 1. A 30 g sample of thecharged zeolites was then placed in metal chamber with a water inletport at the bottom and a gas outlet port at the top. The chamber thatheld the zeolites was 34×34 mm in cross section and had 2 metal filterdiscs with 64 1/16″ diameter holes to retain the zeolite material. Tapwater was then flooded into the bottom of the chamber perpendicular tothe cross-section at an average flow rate of 60 ml/min Gas evolvedthrough the top outlet port.

The pressure of the gas in the chamber was measured with a pressuregauge and controlled using a needle valve attached to the exit port ofthe gas chamber. The needle valve was set to maintain the chamber at apressure of 35 psig by manually adjusting the valve over the course ofexposing charged zeolites in the chamber to water. Once the valve wasset to an operating pressure, the system would perform repeatably withzeolite samples charged in the same manner.

EXAMPLE 3

Charged zeolite 13X was prepared as in Example 1. A 30 g sample of thecharged zeolites was then placed in a semi rigid 50 mlpolystyrene-polyethylene-EVOH laminate cup container and thermallysealed with a foil lid. The sealed zeolite cartridges were then placedinto a sealed, metal cartridge chamber and pierced on the top andbottom.

Tap water was introduced at the bottom of the cartridge with the flowcontrolled by a solenoid valve. The solenoid valve was actuated via apressure switch connected to the top gas outlet of the cartridgechamber. During three different tests, the pressure switch was set tothree different operating pressures of 5, 22, and 35 psig. The resultinggas at the set pressures was then introduced into the shellside of ahydrophobic membrane contactor (1×5.5 Minimodule from Liquicel, ofCharlotte, N.C.). The other shellside port was plugged to prevent gasfrom escaping. Water from a reservoir containing 400 ml of water andapproximately 50 g of ice was circulated from the reservoir, through thecontactor, and back to the reservoir (e.g., like that shown in FIG. 2)using an Ulka (Milan, Italy) type EAX5 vibratory pump through thelumenside of the membrane contactor. The pressure of the reservoir andcontactor was maintained at the same pressure as the gas was produced.The system produced gas and circulated the water for approximately 60seconds before being stopped.

The resulting carbonated water was then tested for carbonation levelsusing a CarboQC from Anton-Paar of Ashland, Va. The results for areshown in the table below:

System Pressure Average Carbonation Level (psig) (Volumes CO₂ dissolved)10 1.35 22 2.53 35 3.46

Thus, the gas was shown to evolve from the zeolites in the cartridges ata controllable rate (based on water delivery to the cartridge chamber)and then dissolved into water to produce a carbonated beverage. Inaddition, this illustrates the concept that by controlling systempressures one can control the level of carbonation of the finishedbeverage. It is expected that higher system pressures, e.g., of about40-50 psi above ambient, would produce a 4 volume carbonated beverage(having a liquid volume of about 500 ml) in about 60 seconds or less.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated that various alterations,modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intendedto be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spiritand scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description anddrawings are by way of example only.

1. A beverage making machine, comprising: a precursor liquid supply toprovide precursor liquid used to form a beverage; a carbonation tankhaving an inlet coupled to receive precursor liquid delivered by theprecursor liquid supply, and an outlet at a bottom of the carbonationtank to deliver precursor liquid from the tank to a dispense line thatleads to a dispensing station; and a carbonating gas supply line fluidlycoupled to the dispense line of the carbonation tank to deliver carbondioxide gas to the outlet of the carbonation tank to carbonate theprecursor liquid.
 2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the precursorliquid supply includes a pump arranged to deliver precursor liquid tothe carbonation tank.
 3. The machine of claim 2, wherein the pump isarranged to pump gas to the tank to substantially force precursor liquidfrom the carbonation tank and into the dispense line.
 4. The machine ofclaim 1, wherein the carbonating gas supply line is coupled to a sourceof pressurized carbon dioxide used to carbonate precursor liquid in thetank.
 5. The machine of claim 4, wherein the source of pressurizedcarbon dioxide includes a cartridge containing a gas source that isactivated to release carbon dioxide in the presence of a fluid.
 6. Themachine of claim 5, wherein the precursor liquid supply is arranged todeliver precursor liquid to the gas source in the cartridge to cause thegas source to release carbon dioxide.
 7. The machine of claim 1, whereinthe gas supply line includes a gas delivery valve between a source ofpressurized gas and the dispense line that is controllable to open andclose the gas supply line, and the dispense line includes a dispensevalve that is controllable to open and close the dispense line.
 8. Themachine of claim 1, wherein the carbonation tank is coupled to a vent tovent the tank to ambient pressure.
 9. The machine of claim 8, furthercomprising a pump to pump a gas into the carbonation tank to forcecarbonated precursor liquid from the carbonation tank and into thedispense line.
 10. The machine of claim 1, further comprising a mixingchamber coupled to the dispense line to mix the carbonated precursorliquid with a beverage medium.
 11. The machine of claim 1, furthercomprising a cartridge holder arranged to hold a cartridge having afirst chamber containing a gas source to release the carbon dioxide gas.12. The machine of claim 11, wherein the cartridge holder is arranged tohold a cartridge having a container defining a sealed internal spacewith a first chamber and a second chamber that are isolated from eachother, the first chamber containing a carbon dioxide source in solidform, having adsorbed carbon dioxide, and arranged to emit the carbondioxide gas for use in carbonating the precursor liquid to form abeverage, the second chamber containing a beverage medium for use inmixing with the precursor liquid to form a beverage.
 13. The machine ofclaim 12, wherein the cartridge holder is arranged to introducepressurized gas into the second chamber to cause the beverage medium toexit the second chamber.
 14. The machine of claim 12, further comprisinga carbon dioxide activating fluid supply arranged to provide a fluid tothe cartridge chamber for contact with the carbon dioxide source tocause the carbon dioxide source to emit carbon dioxide gas.
 15. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the cartridge holder is arranged to piercethe first chamber to form an opening through which an activating fluidis introduced into the first chamber to cause the carbon dioxide sourceto emit the carbon dioxide.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein thecartridge includes a lid at a top of the container, and the cartridgeholder is arranged to pierce the lid to form openings through which theactivating fluid enters the first chamber and carbon dioxide exits thefirst chamber.
 17. The system of claim 12, wherein the cartridge holderis arranged to pierce the second chamber to form an opening throughwhich pressurized gas is introduced to force the beverage medium to exitthe second chamber.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the carbonationtank includes a cooling container tank around at least a portion of thecarbonation tank arranged to hold ice to cool precursor liquid in thecarbonation tank.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein the carbonationtank includes an agitator arranged to move precursor liquid in thecarbonation tank to aid in carbonation of the precursor liquid.
 20. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the precursor liquid supply includes astorage tank to provide precursor liquid to the carbonation tank.
 21. Amethod of making a beverage, comprising: delivering precursor liquid toa carbonation tank having an outlet at a bottom of the carbonation tankcoupled to a dispense line; delivering carbon dioxide gas under pressureto the carbonation tank via the outlet; carbonating the precursor liquidin the carbonation tank with the carbon dioxide gas; and delivering thecarbonated precursor liquid from the carbonation tank to the dispenseline via the outlet.